Here’s a seemingly obvious truth: You don’t reinvent the wheel around the core activities of fundraising. Instead, what is important is to first understand what the wheel looks like and then to manage the process with vigilance.

Through years of experience, George Stanois has identified 12 steps for an effective fundraising program. In The Vigilant Fundraiser, George and a team of highly-skilled contributors share how you can look for opportunities within the 12 steps to set your organization apart from all the others who do what you do.

Chapter contributors share a wealth of experience in illuminating each of the 12 steps:

Step One: Victoria White on Writing a Powerful Case for SupportStep Two: John Phin on Developing a Fundraising Strategy
Step Three: Jennifer Hilborn and Sarah Varley on Special Event Best PracticesStep Four: Gina Eisler on Donor Recognition and StewardshipStep Five: Lee Pigeau on Developing a Fundraising CommitteeStep Six: Lee Pigeau on Training Volunteers to make The AskStep Seven: Liz Rejman on Identifying your Key StakeholdersStep Eight: Paul Nazareth on Planned GivingStep Nine: Peter Barrow on a Communications PlanStep Ten: Ed Sluga on Marketing through a newsletterStep Eleven: Yours truly, John VanDuzer on The “C” Change: the case for creative (the only chapter with pictures, might I add)Step Twelve: Jim Watson and George Stanois on Being Vigilant

As George notes, “Being vigilant means using all the steps; executing 7 steps out of 12 isn’t going to cut it.”

This excellent resource provides the full picture on fundraising – and will become the go-to tool for fundraisers looking to “up their game” and find new ways of successfully tackling resource development challenges.